Beautiful Sunset
by Medusa's Hairdresser
Summary: A shadow from the past comes up...
1. Chapter 1

~My story dissappeared; I have been gone for too long. I did write, but I didn't want to update because I couldn't update regularily and thus keep you waiting everytime...I'm so sorry!

When school starts again I can post regularily, but right now I'm trying to dream and it has cost me a year to prepare the bed~

I changed a few stupid mistakes I have been annoyed with since I releashed it so long ago~~

'Luffy! Won't you come play?' Chopper and Ussop asked simultaneously.

They stared at eachother 'What the...' And with such a dumbfounded expression that Luffy almost fell of the figurehead laughing. It was not much of a joke, and not that terribly funny, but he just could not keep from laughing at the expressions that formed on their faces.

'Nah, I'm staying here for a bit' Luffy replied when he calmed down. 'I'm gonna go fishing! Maybe I'll catch a Sea King again! Remember, last time? It was delicious, don't you remember?' Ussop and Chopper sweatdropped at his hyper activity. No wonder he was always hungry; he kept bouncing whatever the cause. Hopefully it would not cause him to fall into the water this time... eh no, give up on that. It would certainly cause him to fall into the water, but hopefully Zoro was awake to keep him from drowning.

Ussop scrugged 'Well that's your loss' then he added 'don't go swimming!'

Luffy didn't appreciate the joke and trew a small fish in his face.

Small by Luffy measuring, mind you, so Ussop was trown on the ground while Chopper was laughing his ass off. Grinning with a face that could only come with a skin that can stretch as rubber, he turned his back to them and went back to fishing.

The remaining crewmembers went about on their business, relaxing before being bothered with whatever it was they still had to do today before they would set off again.

It had been a nice, quiet day for the Mugiwara crew, until a small Marine galley showed up close at the terminal they were docked. Sanji was out buying groceries, Nami and Robin went shopping and Ussop and Chopper were playing their game elsewhere. Because the sails weren't out and the flag was coiled around the mast it was hard for a commoner to relate this small ship to the famous Mugiwara pirates. The figurehead was visible, but other than the trademark of the pirates there weren't any details about the ship mentioned on the wanted posters, and the ship was therefore unknown to the general public.

And for those who did see it, it never quite left their nightmares. But today, it was not anything of the ship that was noticed, it was their captain.  
Luffy had been sitting on the figurehead as he always was off-shore, but today he didn't want to leave it and go explore the boring island, only consisting of very little space and it had hardly more then a population off 600 people. This place looked as if it was hardly ever visited in years. It looked boring and it was boring. The few people who went to town would return soon enough. No marinebase in sight, by the way.

That's why it was certainly odd to see such a small, but fast vessel aproaching the dock. Paying no heed to the great bounty on his head, Luffy watched the galley dock, still sitting in full sight on the figurehead of the Tousand Sunny.

Some people climbed out and a few looked up at the ship so much bigger than theirs, in such a small haven. Behind them followed their captain. He too, examined the ship in wonder, a big, goofy-looking lionhead towering above him from which Luffy now looked straight down at him.

Luffy's curiousity spiked. The captain who just stepped out was a fat, ugly guy whose only feature that was not repulsive was his long blond hair, standing in schrill contrast with the rest of his ugly body (and personality, Luffy knew). A tattoo of something indistinguishable was on his shoulder.

At the same moment Luffy recognized him, he recognized Luffy, even though his famous strawhat was on his back, and not visible from the low position of the dock.

'You!'

'Yes, me' Luffy replied in a calm tone, the anger building up slightly. He was not afraid of this piece of shit, but he sure as hell wasn't going to forget what he had done to him all those years ago.

'It has been quite a while, hasn't it Polchemie?'

'It surely has, brat.' Polchemie (remember, in the arc about Luffy's past? don't know if his hair is blond. I just guessed because I haven't finished the anime but I do follow the manga, so no color) felt his anger rise to a boiling point, all that anger being caused by that annoying immature brat who caused him to break with his crew and get shot by the captain, who then exclaimed he was worthless.

By this brat he lost his dignity and prestige and had to start from scrap. He sure as hell wasn't going to forgive him for that. He was now a marine captain, and his past was a secret, and so was his former name. Because there were very few to survive the fire in the Gray terminal, there was no one to rat him out to the marines.

That was, until he met this annoying kid again. He was going to show the last who caused his demise the same terror he had faced.

'Sir, we only came here to restock, please don't make it too long.' one of his subordinates said.

'I can do whatever i want. We're not in a hurry, but I won't take too long. Please inform the men that they are to go to the village and get their supplies. I have a little talking to do and I don't need help for that.'

"Aye sir " was replied -though reluctantly- and soon the other marines left the dock.

When the last of the marines was out of sight the captain permitted himself to speak again, Luffy was still watching, without a word.

'So, you're the last off the annoying pests who haunted the Gray Terminal, if I remember correctly.'

'Doesn't seem so, since you're still alive' Luffy replied, getting a bad feeling from the tone the other man used in his reply. There was something that guy knew and it wouldn't be nice to find out from the look of how this was going. But, seeing as Polchemie was not a patient -nor smart- man, he decided to play his ace immediatly; really, this brat annoyed him to no end.

'Ya fatzo, I thought Ace and Sabo kicked your ass enough already.' Luffy continued when the other man remained silent.  
Zoro, who appeared to be sleeping on the deck, cracked an eye open. No one in the crew talked about their past, and if that past happened to show up once in a while it always meant trouble. As Ace's name passed his worries and curiosity left him unable to sleep further, and wondering who in the world would even bring that up.

'The damage they did was neglectable, but, anyhow, I was never able to repay them in kind...' Luffy noticed the eyes of the man glinting with unspilled knowledge, which was very, very rare. 'I heard the poor little guy died a little while ago...what was his name again? As for the Sabo brat, I only gave the command to shoot him, I couldn't execute the order myself hehe.'

_"How the heck is that possible!" _Luffy yelled. "Sabo was shot by a ship from the Tenryuubito! You were not even around!" Zoro got up. Luffy didn't sound like his usual self, that was clear as day.

'Those _nice_ people on the marine ship didn't notice me, thinking I was the new captain whose clothes I had taken. I'm forever grateful for them, not only did they blow up the little pest who dared to hit me, they also gave the order to burn the Gray Terminal, with that scum of a former captain with it!'

"You gave the order to shoot Sabo?" Luffy growled low.

'I just said that you bad I never got my revenge on that other brat, but luckily my superior Akainu was kind enough to help me out on that one. I heard you were there too weren't you? Kinda stupid of yours' to get your brother killed on your behalf. I mean, how many times does he have to save you?' Here the admiral showed some sort of foolish, surprised expression 'Couldn't do anything on your own, now could you? He didn't even have to die to be in heaven, if only you hadn't interfered and had died when we first met! I feel for that poor brother of you, having such a weakling that keeps needing to be looked after...' Here he took the trouble of molding the fat on his face into a look of mock-pity. 'Actually, your nakama have the more shitty end of the stick he...'

He didn't finish his sentence. Involuntarily that was, because of the little fact that when he was about to proceed his story about Luffy's nakama, a giant jaw-cracking fist met his face.

-X-

Part 1 of chapter 1. I'm uploading it in parts now. I have most of the story on my mp3, but the newer chapters are on my computer at home. Right now I'm in China doing volunteerwork at a school and in a few days I'm going to travel all over the country :) I don't speak any Chinese. Me and my shitty english better than an english teacher here...lol


	2. Chapter 2

Again, it changes when I upload it. My apologies for the layout.

-x-

"..." Luffy stared down at him. He was now standing on the dock, over the marine captain whose head he had punced into the dock. Unspeaking and pale, but Polchemie could not tell if the boy was pale with anger or with fear. He decided it should be fear. The brat did not know how much strenght he had build up over the years. If the boy was not white with fear, then he was going to make sure that it would be in a matter of seconds. Luffy watched Polchemie stand up without moving a muscle.

Then Polchemie took out a pair of gloves Luffy knew all to well. It were the spiked gloves the man had used to beat Luffy into a bloody pulp (-on a leash) till Ace and Sabo saved him.

'Remember? *smile* You better watch it!' Polchemie looked really taken in by his own "smartness and cunningness" 'I'm much stronger now! I gave up being a pirate, but as a marine, my strength increased tenfold! And do you remember these?' He put the gloves on 'This time your brothers won't save you! And I don't see those worthless crewmembers of yours' anywhere. They probably left you here didn't they? They have the devils luck leaving just in time. They'd got sick of covering yous weak ass all the time, ney?'

Polchemie hit the mute captain with a fist 'You can't even defend yourself properly!' He underlined each word with a punch. Luffy glared through the blows which resounded through the dock, while Zoro observed from the Sunny. Finally he raised his fist, which was the last Polchemie saw that day.

'Don't talk about my nakama!'

'You're all talk' he said with something similar to his usual grin, after he made quick work of the Marine admiral. 'A weakling like you' then he added quietly 'a weakling like me...'

He sunk the small galley to relieve his anger and went to sit on the lions head till the others returned. He didn't notice Zoro standing, or Franky, who came on the deck after hearing the commotion outside. He just went back to his fishing.

From their position on the deck it looked as if he wiped the blood from the shallow wounds on his face quickly.

'Hey! We have to hurry! Prepare to set off immediatly!' Nami yelled from the coastline 'There is a big marinebase closeby and today one of their admirals will be coming to this i-...island.' She finished her sentence at the sight of the crushed galley. Oh.

'Anyway, we're all done now. Let's set off'

Never had an encounter with a marineship gone so smootly. Almost none of them had to anything at all. They didn't even notice that something had happened, the reason they left was because of the rumor of a **big** marine vessel, carrying a **big** marine admiral who had **big** business on their **big** island. It took a while for them to process that the townspeople had exaggerated, if only just a little~. They laughed at the thought that they mistook a rumor in a small town for actual trouble, and joined for dinner.

'Oi Luffy! Dinner!'

'Yeah' was heard from the figurehead.

Sanji shook his head. The idiot would normally come rushing at the very smell of food. Well, he couldn't be sick because he's Luffy so, no need to be worried about that. Luffy was just admiring the sunset, and even as this was odd, Sanji didn't blame him for it. The sunset looked spectacular; beautiful shades of red surrounded the dying sun. Several clouds drifted before the sun, colored red by the light. It looked as though the clouds had pierced it, leeking all those other, beautiful crimson clouds.

Sanji went back inside, his dinner was getting cold. He knew better than to wait till it cooled down enough to be eaten properly, because all too soon the kid would come raid the kitchen and every plate on the table. Luffy would come eventually, especially since those red clouds indicated rain.

'Oi Robin, have you ever heard of something called the Gray Terminal?' Zoro suddenly asked. Dinner was almost finished and there was still no sight of their overly-active captain.

Robin looked a bit surprised at the question, but did not hestitate to ask 'In east-blue?'

'Guess so'

'That is a trash mountain from the kingdom of Goa. There are supposed to be more... but I only heard of one when I was with the Revolutianaries. I had never heard of it before, or after, up till now swordsman-san.'

'Was there a fire some time ago?'

'Yes, but how did you know that? It never appeared in the newspapers.'

'?'

'The burning of the trash heap called Gray Terminal was to get rid of the trash'

'So it was not important enough to be put into the papers?' Ussop decided to join in on the conversation. It had to be something lifetreatening if Zoro was interested in it.

'Not only that. The people who lived there were also considered part of the trash that was burned. Moreover, the fire was intended to get rid of the people who were labeled as trash' The crew was silent after that.

'How come you asked about this, swordsman-san?'

'I heard a marine talking about it and I got curious.'

The conversation was cut short when Franky noted that he was full. This got everyone's attention, because Luffy always stole more then half their food. 'Where's Luffy?' Chopper asked. 'Now you mention it, I have hardly seen him the entire afternoon' Nami replied.

'He probably fell asleep somewhere, let's finish our own dinner before he decides to wake up and steal it' Zoro said. He was bothered with what the marine had said, but he was not going to tell the entire crew just yet. If Luffy wasn't going to tell, then he should respect that.. for now, then.

After everyone finished and cleaned the plates, they wondered not for the first time where their captain was. He had been a little _off_ ever since they regrouped.

"Zoro, go look for him"

"Shut up, do it yourself"

"I'll increase your debt"

Zoro had already left.

He didn't need to search long. He found the captain sitting on the figurehead, steadily watching the horizon, where all light now had dissapeared. There would be a new moon in a few nights, so the night was almost completely black.

'Oi Luffy, you missed dinner' Zoro chuckled as the kid suddenly jarred awake from the sound, as if he'd been sleeping with eyes open. Or thinking, that was not as likely, but the former mentioned feat (sleeping with eyes open) was not even accomplished (yet) by the narcoleptic Zoro.

'Not hungry'

Zoro got an uneasy feeling in his gut. Luffy was always hungry.

'Anyway, it's nighttime. Brook is on watch. Maybe you should get some sleep before it's your turn.'

'Good thinking' He slowly got up with one hand on his hat, a smile beneath the dark shadows leaking from under it.

'Are you okay?'

Luffy smiled and went to his hammock, as if nothing was wrong. Trying to let everyone believe nothing was wrong. But as he was able to maintain his composure during the day, he couldn't control the memories flowing back in the dark.

-x-

As I said I'm putting it up in parts now. Last time there was a huge difference in length through the chapters, but hey, it was my first fic, have mercy on me.


	3. Chapter 3

I love being back here, it makes me really sad that I have to go so soon after coming back. (Still, I'm really looking forward to read 5 OP chapters in a row :P) I have uploaded 8 chapters and I put them on every now and then. Thank you very much for your reviews!

Luffy's POV

The sunset was stained red, beautiful, if not the memory it recalled was so cruel. The blood on his hands, Ace's blood, the blood of his friend. The blood of his brother. Slow, steady streams of crimson as he had seen many times before. He remembered the first time Ace saved him. At that time it was mostly his own blood, because he refused to tell the place of the treasure Ace and Sabo had gathered to go out to sea.

To go out to sea... It had been his dream and theirs too. He wouldn't ruin it for them. He would never do something like that! That ugly guy could do whatever he wanted, Luffy wasn't going to tell. But he did go quite far... he thought he was going to die... After that he had been saved countless times by either Ace or Sabo. After Sabo died Ace saved him, even when they had started different countries, each declaring independence to the other. But then, so many years later, it was Luffy's chance to finally pay Ace back a little for always saving him.

He was going to rescue Ace from his execution.

He would go down to the deps of hell to help him, and he actually did. He went down 6 versions of hell, and in doing so, lost ten years of his life, but he didn't make it. Running over the backs of the people who helped him get out of the prison, he went straight to Marine Headquarters. He had to save his last brother, even if it was the last thing he did.

And there he was. Ace was a free man once again. Finally they could escape this dreadful place.

And then Luffy fell. And then Akainu was going to kill him. And then Ace blocked him. And then the fist of magma burned right through his body. And then he spoke.

And then he died.

'And then the weak person that I am was saved again.' Luffy murmured silently. He heard someone approaching, and he could tell it was Zoro. The sun had set completely, erasing the red with black. How could he have missed the blue? It was night, and the moon was up in the sky. Quietly and careful to not let the first mate see what he was doing, he wiped the tears that had formed .

'Oi Luffy, you missed dinner.'

That was peculiar, the feeling he had was not hunger.

'Not hungry'

'Anyway, it's nighttime. Brook's on watch. Maybe you should get some sleep before it's your turn.'

It's not the time to be moping

'Good thinking'

'Are you okay?' Zoro enquired.

Huh? Weird guy. Nothing happened right? Nothing had happened today, nothing at all.

Luffy nodded and without another word he went to the mens' quarters and climbed his hammock. He didn't notice the stares of the other guys. Because the darkness had hidden him for hours now, he thought he wouldn't be noticed. Uncharacteriscly quiet he took of his hat and went to bed.

In the dim lamplight they had seen the dismay on his face, no longer hidden by his hat. They knew something had happened but there was something about Luffy preventing them from asking...

_He was lying on the grass. It was soft and warm and would have been comfortable if only he didn't lay on his stomach and he couldn't move. Strands of grass were tangled around his limbs and his throat. He couldn't lift his head to see the trilling crimson sunset that colored the grass red. He couldn't lift his arms or even his fingers. He couldn't turn around to lay on his back. The panic grew in his gut. He tried to get up, but he could hardly even keep his eyes open. He didn't dare to scream. He knew he should go; elsewhere was someone in big trouble and he needed to get up! _

_He fruitlessly struggled, but his body didn't the grass began to burn. Slowely but surely the fire crept up to him. The flames were licking at his heels, his famous strawhat was beginning to catch fire, and then he saw them..._

_All of a sudden the burning grass had turned into the burning Gray Terminal. He saw the savages burn, their hair aflame, their clothes. Everywhere, burning..._

_One by one he recognized the faces. First Zoro, then Sanji, then Ussop and Nami. Chopper was already burning completely, his fur insinerating. He screamed in pain. Brook's hair had caught fire, his clothes were burning... Franky had little to burn but the ground beneath his feet had already caught fire, he could not escape the flames. Even Robin was caught in the flames. Every member of his crew screamed in pain..._

_And they screamed at their captain. 'Why can't you save us? Why do we have to die? Why did you let us die...' 'So this is the life you wanted me to live?' Robin screamed in anger. 'Why did you not let me die with dignity! Why give us false hope! How could you be so cruel to save us, and then let us die so easily?' _

_Then there was Zoro, more dead than alive laying on the ground in Triller Bark. The memory of Robin crying at Enies Lobby, prepared for death for their sake. He saw Nami stabbing her shoulder, begging him for help. _

_The flames tore through the memory, as if it was a mere picture. As if the moment that was projected would dissapear along with it's reflection on the paper. But no... It was not as if the flames burned the memory away. The images were etched in his memory, slowly smoldering, waiting for a breath of air that would revive the flames that had been smothered for so long. Images kept repeating of those who helped him, and those he lost. _

_His sight was blocked Ivanokov, who said he should go ahead. He did what he was told but he knew the okama could not beat the upcoming enemy. Then his fancy hair caught fire, and he too burned. Burned and fell down. Burned and died. He didn't scream. _

_Luffy still couldn't scream. He couldn't do anything._

_'Luffy watch out!' _

_He had known he would come. Always he saved him. But he also knew what would happen if Ace were to save him this time. 'Ace! Stay away! Please!' He looked at the familiar scene. The fist of Lava sticking out of his brother. The blood, the fire, the burned flesh. He felt the guilt. 'It's my fault'_

_And then they stood before him. Fire licking at their clothes, horrible burns all over their bodies, but they were there! Luffy finally managed to stand up. They were alive! His crew! His brother! Everyone! Even Sabo! Even Bon Clay! Even Coby stood there, half his face burned off and his glasses cracked. _

_But his happiness was shortlived as he looked at their faces. They all looked at him with dead eyes, bearing expressions as if they were disgusted at the mere sight. Robin, whose features were normally composed, wore a scowl on her face. With one last glare they all turned away, back into the fire. _

_'NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' He tried to run towards them but his legs were so weak! He fell and tried to get up but it failed. He reached out to them, but they kept walking further into the fire. Only there they looked back. _

_'Why wouldn't we go? We'd die anyway if we were to travel with such a disgrace of a captain.' Zoro spoke._

_'Why wouldn't I go? YOU killed me already' snickered Ace. Their burning faces laughed at him, his stupidity, his weakness, his worthlessness. The skin seemed to melt from their faces, making the grotesque smiles even bigger. Their blood didn't burn. As the skin charred away, the blood leeked out, extinguishing the flames. The ground colored red, one by one those he came to see as family fell down, their glares never leaving him. Everywhere was that trilling crimson colour as from the sunset. _

_And then everything was black. How could he have missed the blue? _

_'No, stop this..' Their pain was converted to him. It was as if his fur was on fire, just as Choppers'. It was as if the blood leeked form the multiple cuts in his arms, like Nami. It was as if his eye was being peeled out, as Zoro's was. _

_'Why stop it? You chose this!' Sabo sat beside him, he knew, but he didn't dare to look up. He only saw the damaged tophat on the ground. Looking at the severly damaged hat, he was afraid of what he would see if he would look up. Sabo wasn't as protective over his hat as Luffy was, but he would never get in so much trouble that his hat would take damage. _

_He didn't need to look up, because suddenly his other brother fell down next to his hat. His blood mingled with the others. Very, very dark crimson... He stared at it with a strange interest for trivial things that some try to develop when a thought that terrifies them lays sudden siege on the brain and calls on them to yield... Numb he sat there, his thoughts lingering on the shades of red. Easy distractions were trying to keep his mind together. Numb with the gravity of their words pressing down on him...he knew they were true. He dragged them into this, making them think that they could follow their dreams together... But they could not, for they would always be burdened by him. They constantly needed to save him. HIM of all people, he, who was supposed to be their captain. Their voices had been silenced, but silently he heard them singing in a tone that was very unlike his nakama had ever spoken to him "Everything to be Pirate King, don't get in his way! We were the stepping stones to get him this far, and he's not there yet! Turn your backs and run, before you too are caught in his net!" They were mocking him, making fun of him. He heard Ussop's words from when he left the crew '...like you're a real captain!" _

_He could bear it no longer. 'please, please just...stop this...stop..STOP THIS!' _

Here he broke free of his personal hell.

Brook's shift had ended so he came to wake the next guy on duty, but then he had noticed Luffy mumbling in the otherwise silent cabin. He looked as if he had some kind of attack and he was sweating all over. Cautiously he tried to wake the captain up for guard duty, or at least to find out what was wrong, because the boy didn't look like he could handle the task he was appointed to for tonight. Brook touched Luffy's arm carefully to shake him awake and not disturb the others, when he noticed something was certainly wrong.

Luffy's temprature had risen to something that couldn't be healty, and he started tossing around so much Brook feared he would fall out of his hammock. He decided to wake the doctor, but he didn't need to. The very second he turned around Luffy screamed loudly, as if he was in pain. The lights flew on and hurried footsteps could be heard all over the ship. The only one who didn't get up was Luffy, who kept mumbling and crying. 'Ac ...ay away..ease ...t die! ... not... leave... come...ba... so..rry...my fault...my fault...STOP THIS!'

Luffy shot up and stared right into the faces of his crew. They stared back worriedly. Everyone had gathered in a matter of seconds half-dressed but fully prepared to fight. Hackingly Luffy tried to catch his breath. No one spoke.

'What are you guys all doing here?' He felt the aftermath of the nightmare and thought he was going to throw up, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let them know about it. If they knew, they might go away. He couldn't appear weak. He did not want to lose them too. He trained for two years, he was stronger now! He would protect them. But didn't the last worthless guy whose ass he kicked also say that he had improved? And didn't he go down all the same? He wasn't going to lose his crew now. He wasn't going to show them anything was he tried to smile the best he could, pretending everything was fine while the bile was rising to the point he almost couldn't take it any longer.

"Luffy, who's Sabo?" Chopper asked out of curiousity. Luffy's face dropped.

'N-n-no-one. Sorry I woke everyone up...just a bad dream...better go to sleep, before it's your turn to be on watch.' Luffy said with something very similar to his normal grin. The crew froze at this. For some reason that fake smile creeped them out. Luffy climbed down from his hammock with unsteady movements. He became paler at every step towards the cabin door. All watched in silence as he reached the door to go out for his shift. Suddenly his body convulsed violently and the bile spilt on the floor. Shocked cries came from Nami and Chopper. Zoro, Sanji Ussop and Franky just looked with wide eyes. Seeing that Brook does not have eyes, he remained silent, but his suprise was evident even in his skeletal features.

He retched a few more times before his eyes rolled back into his head and he started falling. Chopper was going to rush to his side, but he was frozen in place.

Robin used her many hands to stop him from falling in the mess on the floor. Even she was shaken by how weak the boy appeared.

Note from when I first put it up over a year ago:

May I present to you: "My futile attempt at killing plot bunnies". I've read dozens of great stories here and I couldn't refrain from trying it out myself. Please do not be insulted. I know I will never measure up to some of you great writers out there. You, who have filled my days with laughter and trills many recognized writers fail to give. Plot bunnies started gnawing at my brain and the only way to kill them would be to stick them to a digital piece of paper (you know them, those with a backspace button). Unfortunatly, they do not die. They multiply. Sadly, my fate was thereby sealed, and my homework too.

Note from today:

This was in the mail I got from the admin on May 29th 2012:

_Main reason for removal: Title/Summary not Fiction G rated and not suitable_

_for all audience._

_The above story has been removed because it violated the guideline detailed on_

_the upload page._

I now want to kill someone. Who's with me


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for not forgetting me.

Notice from 14/04/'11

_When I reread my story after posting it, the lay-out had changed, and suddenly I noticed all kinds of mistakes and I thought that I could better remove it! And special thanks go to BrokenBridges. She is writing a great One Piece fic called Liar, and i think it's the biggest compliment of all to be added to her Alert list._

_Oh, I forgot to mention. This is the first story I ever wrote. Other plot bunnies never got a real chance (not more than a few sentences that ended in the digital graveyard). Please don't shoot me! It's their fault *grin*_

-x-

Luffy opened his glassy eyes and stared up at a quite unfamiliar ceiling. He knew he had seen it before, just so very few times that he did not recognize it at first sight. He was in the infirmary.

He tried to lift his head but found that even that slight movement cost way more strength than it should have. Noticing that eerie resemblance to his dream he put more strength behind it, just out of sheer panic. His movement did not go unnoticed by a pile of moss sitting against the wall, normally referred to as Zoro.

'You okay?'

Luffy looked his way. He noted that the swordsman looked oddly worried. And really cranky.

'Fine, just hungry'

*sigh* Not the most unexpected answer.

'Pretty likely, but that's not it. You're not fooling anybody, so just tell what the problem is. I won't tell the others, if you don't want them to know' The others were just as worried, but he didn't need to tell them. He noticed Robin's ear in the corner, and he was pretty sure the others were listening as well. It wasn't their usual behavior, but there was something serious going on and Zoro surely wouldn't tell them. The only way to make Luffy talk was with the info Zoro overheard, but didn't tell the crew yet. Making Zoro talk to Luffy would be killing two birds with one stone.

'Told you, nothing is wr...' 'What happened at the Gray Terminal and who is Sabo?' Luffy paled slightly, if even possible. Zoro wondered if he had been too direct, but beating around the bush wasn't going to help him. It would just give Luffy more ways to evade a direct answer, or to act like he did not understand.

'Who told you about that?' no more than a whisper came out.

'Speak up' Zoro said, not unfriendly. He wanted this to be over as soon as possible. He didn't like this one bit. Luffy fidgeted and didn't look him in the eye. He looked around like a trapped animal, but he couldn't avoid the question. He sighed heartily and made up his mind. He wouldn't lie or tell half truths to the first mate. 'Sabo is...sorry, _was_ my brother. Twelve years ago, he left for the sea... when his ship was blown up by the Tenryuubito. Heh... He never really got to fullfil his promise... It seems even a promise between brothers can't always be kept. The guy from earlier seemed to have given the order'

A shiver ran down his spine, and he stopped talking for a second. 'Ah. Now I know how you got your information' Luffy smiled a little. 'It's hard to tell when you are awake or sleeping.'

'Brother? I thought Ace was your only brother?' Shit, it just slipped out.

Luffy smiled sadly. 'No, when I was seven years old, me, Ace and Sabo decided to be brothers. We didn't have anyone else to rely on anyway... We sure had fun back then...' His voice faltered, and there was a faraway look in his eyes. The conversation was lost in some memory, a small smile preventing him from uttering another word. But his face changed as the memory played on.

'...'

"Luffy?"

'...'

'And how is this related to the Gray Terminal?' Zoro decided to keep him talking. He was afraid Luffy would stop responding, still lost. There was something wrong and he had to know what.

More silence, but then he began a story Zoro had never heard of before.

'The Gray Terminal...never thought I'd hear about that again...certainly not here'


	5. Chapter 5

However reluctant Luffy had been in answering, Zoro got some of the information about the Gray Terminal and Sabo out of him. Even the part in which Sabo and Ace saved him from the guy from earlier. Zoro was astounded at that part of the story, and the weird view his captain had on this. He was freaking seven years old and being punched by those horrendous spiked gloves he had seen this afternoon, and he still didn't spill a secret were he had almost nothing to do with! But Luffy didn't seen proud of himself. He was proud of his brothers who beat down the evil fatzo from this afternoon, but seemed deeply ashamed of the fact that he couldn't do anything by himself back then. He didn't speak of the fire, or of Dadan, or anything that was not specifically asked by Zoro. And even then his words were scarce.

Luffy sat up and pulled his knees to him, his hat he put on in a way most his features were hidden. 'We promished each other to live without regrets. To live free and never look back. To roam the seas till one day we might meet each other again... When Sabo set sail he was shot by a marineship that escorted some important persons ship, just because his ship was slightly in the way. He died before the coastline was out of sight. We couldn't even bury him, his body is still submerged in the harbour...'

The image of a body with crabs feeding on it, a body dilated because of the water and bearing a childlike face bubbled up... It's a much feared fate to die at sea. The bodies fill with water until the person is unrecognisable even to his own mother. Creatures feed off the body, until it's almost a relief to find a dead friend as a skeleton, with no proof of the fate he's suffered...

The door gave in. Chopper, Nami and Ussop fell on the ground, making it very evident that they had been eavesdropping. Zoro facepalmed internally, but was grateful as well. The fate of Luffy's brothers made him a little sick. Just a little.

'Luffy you're finally up!' Chopper exclaimed as if nothing had happened. 'Yeah, I guess it happened because I haven't had dinner yet. I'm going to _die_ from hunger...!' He chimed. He didn't want to worry them, but he felt that whatever he would eat, would not be digested before it went back where it was before he stuck it into his mouth (hopefully on a plate, indiscriminate whose). Chopper had examined Luffy after he lost consciousness, but he had found nothing out of the ordinary (except that the body he was examining was made of rubber). He thought that maybe Luffy had damaged his trachea when he got the scar, but Luffy did not seem any weaker or having trouble breathing (isn't his trachea also made out of rubber?) before. He decided for his own mental health to go with Luffy's reasoning (first -and maybe last- time on this area. He'd never trust someone who eats meat to heal a gaping wound in his torso otherwise).

'You're lucky. It's almost time for breakfast' Ussop said. 'Shit!' they heard coming from the adjacent wall, revealing more public to the -formerly private- conversation.

Luffy smiled at this, a true, albeit small, smile. They were just worried about him. It didn't solve his problem, but for now he would push it away. He knew he would pay for it later, but he would deal with it when it came.

Luffy's eyes were somewhat dull. There was something brooding behind them, and everyone could tell.


	6. Chapter 6

_My only companion will be my backpack and a small Zoro keychain the coming weeks^_^. Maybe a few more chapters tonight, maybe not. But I uploaded more chapters to the site, so even after today I will be able to update in the coming weeks. (If I don't have Zoro's sense of direction)_

The following days he tried to fall back in his old behavior as much as possible. He played with Ussop and Chopper, annoyed Sanji, asked Brook weird questions, but when there was nothing to distract him, he would be completely silent.

At the moment he was on the lions head looking as non-treatening as Luffy could be. He lay on his back with his limbs fawned over the figurehead looking like the only earthly form of boredom. His eyelids drooped, and Nami -who had been watching to see if he would fall off and smiled at the thought of Zoro jumping in the water to fetch him- thought he would soon fall asleep. Come to think of it, when was the last time he slept? The only time she could recall not seeing Luffy somewhere on the deck after leaving the island, was the first night. He probably just sleeps everywhere and everytime for a bit, just like Zoro.

For sleeping, every crew member had his or her own weird manners, Zoro being the weirdest of course. Luffy had narcoleptic fits before, just every now and then. Actually, that had been awhile now. She never noticed before, but he mostly fell asleep for no reason whenever he was around Garp (maybe his body just shut down to escape the upcoming pai-...eh Fist of _Love_) or back then with Ace, as if being narcoleptic was some sort of disease for simpletons (Ace is just a little more mature then Luffy, a little more than a little, but still just a little).

She had hardly ever saw Robin sleep, except when there was a reason for her to be overly tired. Robin was almost always awake whenever someone was close to the room but not sleeping, as if she had some sort of defense meganism, which she might as well have. She escaped the goverment ever since she was a little kid, so she couldn't be caught sleeping.

As for Brook and Franky, they slept whenever they felt like it. Chopper and Ussop had tried to copy Zoro's behavior, but they were completely unable of staying up late. They are like children, Nami thought. But they do have guts when they need to! Still, they grew up a lot in the last two years...but they hadn't changed, she thought with a smile. 'They hadn't changed...'

She looked over at the figure lying on the lions head. He appeared to be watching the sky. The sun was going down, and so were his eyelids. Nami decided to walk over. If he fell asleep there, he might fall in the water. Even though she had fun making the annoyed swordsman wake up and jump into the ocean, Luffy did not look quite healthy, so a near-death experience would not do him any good. Besides, Zoro was up at the crows nest and Sanji was making dinner, so she wouldn't disturb them. Zoro might actually jump from there (and then just stand up and walk on as if nothing happened), and the noise would be bothersome.

In the end she didn't have to do anything; as she walked to him he suddenly rose quickly and shook his head like a dog would do. He quickly wiped his face on his sleeve and turned to the deck.

'What are you doing...?' She said, a little taken a-back at the sudden movement.

His face changed into a painfully wide grin. Different this time, because it didn't seem painful as in impossibly, jaw-breaking wide, but as in taking a lot off effort that was not heartily paid this time. In a happy tone that slurred with fatigue he spoke as hyper active as achieveable for him right now;

'Is dinner ready? Is something wrong? Is there gonna be bad weather or something? So, is dinner ready? I didn't smell it yet though...so is it a cold menu today? So it's ready, right?' Nami was dazed at the usual flood of words that lacked eloquence, but never failed to amuse her.

'Dinner is not ready yet. And yeah, there is a small storm coming. How did you know? It is almost clear now.'

'A red sunset means lots of water'

An odd answer coming from Luffy. 'Guess he does notice things sometimes' Nami thought. She saw Sanji coming from the kitchen.

'Nami-swannn! Would you like something to drink, perhaps?' Sanji made his weird, noodle-like movement at this.

'Ah, yes. I could really use a drink right now. Is there still sake?'

'Sorry, 's all gone.' Zoro replied from somewhere unseen. 'We didn't restock any sake remember? The village was dry'

'There were at least two crates with full bottles left when I checked yesterday! Stupid lazy egoist marimo drinking all the sake, not even once tinking of the sweet and kind Nami-swan.' Sanji's eyebrow twitched dangerously.

'Are you having a bit of a fit, curly brow?' Zoro now stood behind him with a malicious aura and a smile on his face, that had yet to turn sadistic. Strange how he had covered such a distance without making a noise.

Sanji looked over, outwardly unfazed by the killing aura, inwardly developing his own. 'Well, of course I shouldn't be surprised to learn that you had not considered the other people on the ship.'

'Go back to your vegetables, ero-cook. They're the only things that might actually return your love' Ouch, that one stung. (I stole this line)

Nami and Robin, who had been reading a book on deck, watched with a slight amusement at the two who were normally so calm during a normal fight, but never got to see who was the strongest among them.

As both prepared for battle, Robin noticed that their captain seemed to be at the end of his rope. The commotion had roused his attention and he had turned towards them. But the fatigue caught up to him and he had trouble keeping his eyes open. Slowly his body slumped against the manes of the lion, his eyes closed.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm in Hong Kong right now. A lot of money was stolen (my faith in humanity took a blow) and so it's more of an adventure so to say...Sleeping outside, cheapest transport and shady people. An adventure indeed. Well, here is a chapter I uploaded before. Sorry if there are any mistakes, but I don't have much time.

-x-

As both prepared for battle, Robin noticed that their captain seemed to be at the end of his rope. The commotion had roused his attention and he had turned towards them. But the fatigue caught up to him and he had trouble keeping his eyes open. Slowly his body slumped against the manes of the lion, his eyes closed.

Before he kept jolting awake when he almost fell asleep, but now he couldn't stop it anymore. 'Zoro-san, Sanji-san, you might want to stop fighting for a second.'

Both turned to her, saying 'We weren't fighting!' If they said they were, then Nami's fist might find its way to their heads, and they hadn't exchanged any physical blows either.

'What is the matter then?' Zoro asked. Robin did not speak much, but if she did, then you should better listen.

'Maybe she just wanted some peace and quiet, but of course you would not understand that' Sanji retorted. Of course listening to Robin was more important then life itself, so the shitty marimo should just have let her speak. The killeraura flared up again, the words that caused the upcoming fight forgotten.

'Captain-san is...' At that second Luffy finally slipped of the figurehead. As he hit the water, only an odd *plop* was heard, not even a splash, as if he had hit the water at such an angle that probably hurt like hell, but did not produce a splash. (It happens, and yes, it hurts)

The little sound went unnoticed by the two who were controlled by adrenalin, and the navigator waiting for the exact moment to hit. Suddenly arms popped out everywhere, holding them down and pinching their cheeks very hard.

'Oi! What are you doing!' Zoro looked at her angrily with one exceptionally red cheek.

'Didn't you notice your captain just fell overboard?' She seemed a angry, in a Robin-like way.

'Shit! When?'

'Just now, hurry!'

Sanji jumped into the water. He wondered why he didn't hear any splashing. If not from the fall, then certainly from the hammer trying to stay above surface. He hadn't heard a scream either.

Way down he saw a speck of yellow, a color too odd to be there naturally. Grabbing at the yellow that was indeed Luffy's hat, he noticed that its owner had sunk a great distance further. He hoped he wouldn't be too late. How lucky they where that Robin was so perceptive. If not, it would have been certain that they were too late. When he finally reached the body, it was already limp and the eyes were closed.

On the ship most members of the Strawhat crew had gathered. It was almost time for dinner, so they had finished their business below deck and had already come up before the cook had shouted dinner was ready. They were surprised at the absence of their captain, who was present on the deck all the time nowadays. Even more surprised they were to see Robin worried. Nami was glaring angrily at Zoro (as if she was any better) but that was fairly normal, nothing out of the ordinary there.

'What is the matter Robin?' Franky asked.

'Nothing that isn't being solved as we speak' Robin answered with that discreet smile of hers.

"Super." A word that lost somewhat of it's meaning by being used so much, but the tone used this time made it just a simple sign of approval. But the fact that the matter was being solved didn't reveal the problem itself.

And it meant that there actually was a problem.

A gasp and splashing was heard from the side of the ship. Everyone present went to look at the source of the noise. Sanji came up gasping for air. He had dived an incredible distance that made his ears trob from the water pressure, and not only that. He had to dive back up carrying another body that was filling with water that could prove to be deadly every second. As he finally breached the surface the body he was holding was growing cold. Colder than it should be after falling in sea.

Immediatly Zoro trew down a ropeladder for the two to climb up. The friendship went deeper then their little fued, besides, there was a life at stake.

Sanji laid Luffy down on the deck and started to push to try and get Luffy to cough out the water. The kid looked terrible; his skin was blue-ish and his lips had lost all color. There were dark sickles beneath his eyes that couldn't have come from the recent experience. Sanji tried and tried but there was no response. Franky had gone to fetch Chopper who was still working in the infirmary, which was almost sound-proof. When Chopper joined them on the deck he didn't go frantic and scream for a doctor to come but immediatly started on the task which he was there for. He didn't lose hope as badly as the others around, but this wouldn't be something easy. The water just didn't come out; the rubber body just gave in at the stomps, without any result. Apparently back at Arlong Park it worked because the body was in the water, and therefore was as any other humans body.

Chopper could not use any of his new techniques or anything on this. It wasn't a disease or anything that could be solved by medicine, so he had to use his mind. If the body was the problem, then it had to be a part of the solution as well. Then he got a silly idea.

'Zoro help me for a bit.'

'What do you plan to do?' Sanji asked. Why didn't anything work? Was Chopper now planning to bring him to the infirmary? What good would that do? Luffy could die any second!

'Wrench it out'

"What!" everyone but those too stunned to talk exclaimed

'We can't get the water out like this! His lungs and stomach just expand!'

When little result came they even used the rolling pin to wrench the water out, which worked. After minutes that seemed like hours, Luffy breathed by himself, but he didn't wake up. Dinner was all forgotten now, everyone was on deck but no one spoke.

Luffy had changed to a rather normal color, though there were still dark sikkels beneath his eyes. He now appeared to be sleeping, unaware of all the commotion he had caused.

'I thought he had gotten stronger ever since we regrouped. No, I know he has grown stronger. Remember how he took out so many marines without even moving?' Franky was the first to break the silence.

'I think something else is wrong. This weird behavior started after the last island remember? Maybe that marine he took out before we arrived was stronger then expected, or...' Nami's eyes widened in shock as the realisation hit her 'Remember those scratches on his face? Maybe whatever weapon that was, maybe it was poisoned!'

Chopper, completely in his role as doctor, set her at ease. 'No, that won't be it. Luffy is resistent to most kinds of poison, remember? He fought with a poison-logia type at Impel Down. The antibodies created back then can counter most poisons if they don't take immediate effect. And the island was almost a week ago. If he was poisoned his body would have produced new antibodies to counter it, it already has the information. I think his recent problems have something to do with what we uhmm..._accidentally _overheard when we came to check up on Luffy after he woke up.'

'Yeah Zoro, what was that about that Marine who knew of the Pay Terminal? I thought Robin said it was a taboo for the government' Ussop broke his silence.

'GRAY Terminal idiot' Zoro recited part of the story he had overheard. The part Luffy had told they already knew the gist of. Of course, the room being almost soundproof, some words were missed but Robin was not stopped by the barrier of walls and told the others what they missed before.

In the middle of the story about why the fire started on the trash heap (Robin speaking), Luffy's fingers started twitching. His expression changed to one of someone in great pain, and he clutched his stomach tighly. While still asleep, he started trowing up. Chopper ordered Sanji to grab his legs together they carried Luffy to the railing. If they had left him there he might have drowned in the former contents of his stomach. When there was only nauseating green substance know as bile and water coming out, Luffy's eyes fluttered open.

Luffy stood up immediatly; the movement made his head spin in a sickening way. Bile burned it's path to his mouth again. How much he wanted to keep his 'small troubles' to himself, he couldn't keep from leaning back over the railing and vomit in the sea. After resting a little on the railing he turned around, white as a sheet and drenched to the bone, but _smiling_. The sun had gone down already, but the clear, small moon bathed everyone in a pale light, making the scene as clear as if it were daylight. The 'red' clouds from before were now black, but had not polluted the light of the moon.

'Sanji, how did you get that wet?' The question was so odd and out of place, the crew almost smiled along with their captain.

'...'

'That's odd' Luffy noted, when no one replied.

'What's odd, Luffy?' Chopper spoke

'How did I get wet?'

'... You do not remember?' Sanji, standing the closest to Luffy, noticed Luffy still had trouble keeping his eyes open. 'Luffy, are you okay? Maybe you should rest...' Sanji was quickly cut off by a ferocious glare from the kid. 'I'm_ fine_, thank you.' Luffy answered with an oddly angry tone that betrayed the smile on his face.

'You fell into the ocean idiot!' Nami was kind enough to point that out. 'If it weren't for Robin you would have reached fish island on your own by now! What the hell is up with you? Why didn't you try to get up on your own?'

'Certainly you've overlooked the little fact that since I've eaten a Devil Fruit my ability to swim was taken?' What the heck? This isn't Luffy-behavior. A cynical answer like that was most certainly not Luffy-behavior. 'Shouldn't you be eating dinner by now? I can smell it from here'

'You're not coming?' Zoro asked in wonder. He had figured that Luffy would be hungry after trowing up everything in his stomach. And even though the recent 'small troubles' occurred, Luffy always fought any illness with easy-digestible food like meat.

'Just a little tired' Luffy said as he stalked off to the mens'quarters. The others who were completely ignored during the conversation all started talking at once when the door closed.


End file.
